


What We Left Unspoken

by RoLo_Renegade



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Preemptive Fix-it Fic, is there such a thing?, supercat, there is now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-11 18:43:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12941391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoLo_Renegade/pseuds/RoLo_Renegade
Summary: When she accepted Olivia's offer to become the new White House Press Secretary, Cat never thought she would one day have to lead a briefing on the televised breaking of the Hero of National City...





	1. Chapter 1

She could see the question, bright and feral in each gaze pointed toward her as she approached her podium. She didn’t blame them. An incident such as this (an _incident_ ) filled the air like the scent of fresh blood, triggering their pack mentality. This was a prize kill, even for reporters high enough on the food chain to claim a spot in this inner sanctum.

“Is Supergirl dead?”

Grip tightened against the podium edges as she felt the question pierce her—slip between her ribs with lethal precision. Each word felt insufferably sharp, each letter a serration that tore more flesh, carved more damage, drove the already present pain deeper until it filled her gut like a fatal bleed.

Everything slowed in the moment. Every breath elongated and rasped against the arid length of her tongue, past the parched tightness of her lips. Every blink shuttered her eyes that much longer from the hunger and fear roiling through the crowd, from the strobing stab of photo flashes, the unflinching focus of cameras broadcasting her words to a world waiting with tenuous hope. Every beat of her breaking heart clanged against hollowed bones, roared into the chasm of a mind cleared of all other thoughts but one.

_The truth._

“Thank you all for coming back so quickly at such a late hour. As you know, this evening National City was the site of what local officials are deeming a terrorist attack perpetrated by an alien they are still trying to locate and apprehend. We cannot confirm anything as of yet about the identity or origin of this alien, but as shown in footage captured by both news outlets and bystanders, they have abilities and strengths comparable to those possessed by Supergirl.”

She paused, felt the full crush of the unspoken, unimaginable truth.

Comparable—or greater.

“As to your question, Anna, I am confirming Supergirl is _not_ dead. I know the footage we keep seeing on continuous loop right now is troubling, but I can assure you, she is still very much alive. She is currently receiving the specialized care I’m sure you all can understand someone of her unique physiology would require.”

With a flick of her fingers, she signaled for the next question. “Rumors are circulating that—”

“Carl, if I wanted to deal in rumors, I would still be running the gossip column at the _Daily Planet_.” Emotion flashed in her unusually glassy stare. “Do you have a question rooted in something more than rumor?”

Shrinking back slightly in his chair, the reporter tried again. “Supergirl very clearly sustained extensive and unprecedented injuries tonight. When will we know the extent and any long-term complications of the damage?”

_She made even agony look graceful, with loose limbs and flowing hair, and if only the cameras would cut away, let her fall interminably until somehow she could rise once more on her own—the hero bowed but not broken._

“The President is currently preparing to leave for National City to get an update on Supergirl in person.” The susurrus of surprise rippled through the scrum. “The Girl of Steel has been willing to sacrifice her life for the salvation of our planet too many times to deserve anything less. We will be leaving within the hour. Considering the last-minute decision, we will not be traveling with a press pool on this trip. I will hold my next briefing as soon as we have confirmed new information, and I will be sure you all are connected and able to ask questions. Thank you.”

Turning her back to the raised hands and clamoring calls, she marched out of the briefing room, her heels clicking a fierce report as she moved in the only direction she knew she should. Even without the frenetic babbling of her aides or the panicked looks from passing staffers, she already accepted fallout was inevitable for what she’d just done.

She would do it again without regret.

The door to the Oval Office was already open, the President’s aide standing at attention, awaiting her arrival. Expression impressively neutral, she greeted, “President Marsdin is waiting for you.”

“Thank you, Danica,” she sighed as she breezed through the door, knowing the aide would pull it shut for her.

Jade gaze narrowed at the sight of the President standing at the Rose Garden entrance, arms crossed loosely against her chest as she gazed into the evening’s darkness. Drawing to a stop at the edge of the nearby sofa, she breathed deeply but remained silent, awaiting acknowledgement.

“I understand Danica needs to hurry to the residence and pack for me.”

Muscles tensed at the unnervingly casual statement and she felt her throat constrict, but she forced herself to maintain her position. When the President finally turned toward her, however, she could not completely stifle the wounded noise that escaped her at the kindness in Marsdin’s eyes.

“I was completely out of line in my statement, Madame President.”

“And you’re not the least bit sorry for it.” Marsdin’s smile hinted at well-nourished roots of friendship and understanding.

“I still own my private jet. I can arrange to have it come for me. I’ll pay for the entire trip myself and I will explain the situation to the corps and apologize for my misstep.”

“You’ll do nothing of the kind.” At the instant glare of surprise, Marsdin moved closer, resting her hands against tense shoulders. “You said it yourself, Cat: The Girl of Steel has been willing to sacrifice her life for us too many times to deserve anything less than her Commander-in-Chief making an in-person visit.”

“Olivia, it’s a waste of taxpayer money for you to fly out there. Those anti-alien jingoists who call themselves senators will latch onto this with the desperation of hyenas scrounging on the Serengeti. I cannot let you do this because of my impulsiveness.”

“The last I checked, you have _slightly_ less control in the White House than you had over your media kingdom,” she countered, blue eyes bright as she studied the smaller blonde. “So what you will or will not allow is, much to your chagrin and my delight, a moot point in this discussion. We are going, period. Let my opponents try to find someone who would side with them in questioning my devotion to Supergirl. I suspect they’d have fewer in attendance at that party than my predecessor had at his inauguration—though nowhere near as many as he had at his recent arraignment.”

Even with the spikes of anxiety drilling into her with every breath, Cat still managed a snort of laughter at the sentiment. “I _am_ sorry, Liv. I didn’t mean to put you in this position or overstep my place.”

Understanding shining in preternaturally blue eyes (though not the _right_ shade of blue), Marsdin replied, “Your place is by her side, Cat.”

Cat merely nodded, knowing her voice would betray her.

Finally boarding Air Force One slightly more than an hour later, Cat immediately slipped into the senior staff meeting room, her thoughts too consumed by Carter’s tearful plea during their brief call as she rode to Joint Base Andrews: “Tell her, Mom. Tell her how much she matters to us. Tell her the truth.”

_The truth is, I need you._

At some point during the flight, Cat finally drifted off into an agitated sleep filled with flashes of red, blue, and gold. When her aide woke her on their descent into National City, her chest ached from the emptiness those flashes left in their evanescent wake.

An NCPD escort awaited them on the tarmac, sped the Presidential motorcade through the city with flashing lights that dredged Cat’s dreams unmercifully to the surface, deepened the ache with their insufferable persistence.

Red. Blue. Red. Blue. Red.

Within the DEO headquarters, agents gathered in-line at the sight of POTUS returning to their midst. They snapped to attention along the path Marsdin walked, their eyes shifting discreetly at the sight of their city’s former queen, returned to her kingdom silent and subdued in ways that betrayed her more clearly than any words ever could.

“Madame President.” The greeting ground ragged and weary from the agent awaiting them at the end of the receiving line.

Marsdin stepped forward, taking his extended hand into both of hers and squeezing tightly. “J’onn, I am so sorry for the circumstances that have brought us here today.”

Cat’s attention pivoted, unable to bear the damask of sorrow shrouding the Martian’s deep-set gaze. She looked instead toward the agent to his right. Recognition instantly straightened her stance. “Alex Danvers.”

Her name passed unnoticed, the brunette too lost within the fugue of exhaustion and pain Cat could see in her bleary stare. Catching movement from the director, Cat quickly raised a hand to ward away his intervention. Instead, she reached out for Alex herself, the warmth of her hands a jarring counterpoint against the agent’s shock-chilled skin. Cat’s strong grip stirred her awareness enough to draw her back into focus. “Ms. Grant?”

Cat tightened her hold, the brunette’s willing tether against her tempest of dark thoughts. “Take me to see her, Agent Danvers.”

Soldier’s instinct instantly kicked in at the hint of steel in Cat’s command. With a nod of approval from Marsdin, the agent straightened and withdrew her hands with a quick glance of gratitude toward Cat. “Of course, Ms. Grant.” She turned and began toward the nearby stairs, Cat gliding swiftly into place beside her.

When the two women stepped into the med bay, Alex led them to the bed farthest from the entrance. Agents who had been nearby, checking stats from the constantly recording monitors stepped discreetly away at the nod of dismissal from the brunette.

Cat struggled to process the medical tableau before her, familiar in its mortal context, now an obscene juxtaposition: impenetrable flesh marred by the crisscross of blood-stained stitches; impervious skin now bruised a miasma of brutal shades; unbreakable bones shattered and invincible muscles torn. Worst of it all were the unnaturally impassive features, visible even beneath the laryngeal mask helping her to keep breathing.

“Dammit, Kara.”

Hearing the soft inhalation beside her, the smaller blonde shook her head while continuing to stare at her broken hero. “I don’t have the strength to maintain the lie, Alex. When she wakes up, I will accept whatever line I need to, go back to whatever status quo she requires of me, but right now, I simply can’t.”

She turned toward the brunette beside her, tears finally falling from her eyes. “Please just let me have the truth for this moment.”

Her own eyes awash with unshed anguish, Alex nodded. More out of a need to hear something other than the steady sound of nearby monitors, she began explaining, ”We’ve placed her in this modified sunbed to help expedite her healing. She gains her powers from energy her cells absorb from our sun.”

Sunny Danvers.

“We’re hoping this will help bring her back to us faster.”

When her voice broke at the end, Alex’s whole body shook, its control limit nearly breached.

Cat stepped away, collecting two high-backed plastic chairs from nearby and positioning them close to Kara’s bed. “Wait with me, Alex.” She touched the agent’s shoulder gently to help refocus her. “Sit and tell me stories about Kara that I can use later to tease her unmercifully.”

Alex’s laugh, fractured and brittle along the edges, still brought a desperately needed release to that part of the med bay. “I don’t think she’d mind the teasing, so long as it came from you.”

Not letting the smaller blonde dwell too much on this particular confirmation about her sister, Alex dropped into one of the chairs with a surprisingly graceless stumble. Weariness groaned between her joints as she shifted to get comfortable, and she barely registered the moment Cat finally sat beside her.

“Why don’t we wait until later for those stories?” She watched Alex slip sideways slightly, eyelids valiantly trying to protest the persistent tug of exhaustion. The smaller blonde reached out, tucked a lock of hair behind Alex’s ear and smoothed the furrow that traced a path across her forehead. With a sleepy hum, the brunette finally gave in, her head lolling to the side against the chair back with a soft thump.

Cat slipped off her suit coat and draped it carefully over Alex, smiling at the splash of aubergine against the agent’s monochromatic DEO attire.

With slow, quiet moves, she pulled her chair as close to Kara’s side as she could. Ignoring the sunbed’s omnipresent glow, she took one of Kara’s hands gingerly in her own. She studied the knuckles, bruised and raw, before turning the hand over and pressing a kiss against the warm, smooth skin of her palm.

_The truth is, I need you now more than I ever have._

Leaning forward while continuing to cradle the hero’s hand in hers, she willed herself to speak. “Seems I’m still missing the point when it comes to you. I owe you the truth and so much more, Kara. So please don’t keep us waiting for you too long, my darling,” and she pressed another tender kiss into the hero’s palm, keeping vigil as dawn crept quietly across the Christmas sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I woke up two mornings ago with this story lodged in my brain. I wrote it in my head during my morning and evening commutes. I transcribed it finally last night and re-read it this morning. It's a more SuperCat version of what I think should happen in the aftermath of Reign's attack on Supergirl. I mean, the threat of an alien capable of injuring Supergirl--that sounds like a pretty big threat to national security, right? Sounds like something the White House would respond to very quickly, no? Seriously, if the show doesn't have a press conference to address this, led by a clearly upset Cat Grant, there's no hope left...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Reign's attack and how the women most important to Kara guide her home...

**_It’s okay not to answer me just yet, sweetheart. I know you’re listening._ **

She felt Eliza close to her, but she refrained from any form of acknowledgement. Instead, she kept staring out the bay windows toward the ocean, gaze following the path of a flock of birds gliding above white-capped waves. They were her favorite thing on this new planet so far.

Birds.

Her nose crinkled derisively at the word—at _all_ words she was now expected to speak. It was so blunt and plain, this new language her protectors spoke. She missed the complexity and musicality of Kryptonese. She missed the way her mouth twisted and curled around her mother tongue in ways it never would for English. 

Speaking these plain words would dull her muscle memory of the language that now lived only within her. 

Kal-El mangled Kryptonese. He spoke it with a thick tongue—a _human_ tongue—and a rudimentary ineptitude that made her head ache more than the collision of sound she first encountered when her pod crashed. She could still feel the phantom pain of it, ringing in her head with concussive force.  

At the feeling of the cushion beside her shifting, she pivoted where she sat, staring in confusion. Beside her, Eliza observed her for a moment, eyes keen but kind. “Would you?” She caught the deepening of the confusion. Tone gentle, she repeated, “Would you like to help me decorate the tree?”

She pulled one of the nearby boxes into her lap. Her expression bore a fondness Kara was beginning to recognize as reserved for their interactions. “I know none of these things makes any sense to you yet.” She shook her head, lips pressed together into a self-deprecating smirk. “They don’t make a lot of sense to us either, really. Just part of tradition, I suppose.”

At that, Kara gave a slight nod. She understood above all else the gravity of preserving tradition.

“Alex used to love to help decorate for Christmas.”

The Kryptonian frowned at mention of the human girl. Alex, whose only interactions with her thus far had been agitated glares and pointed silence. Truthfully, though, the silence wasn’t nearly the deterrent she thought it would be. Kara enjoyed knowing she could relax her struggle to suppress her hearing, even if only a fraction, while with Alex. She knew the other girl wouldn’t bother talking with her—wouldn’t waste her time on someone she had already deemed a nuisance. 

Warm hands gripped one of hers tightly, causing her to flex her fingers out of instinct before falling instantly still. Her strength now terrified her, flared at all the worst moments, left a wake of things broken beyond repair. The thought of doing the same to Eliza’s hands filled her with a preemptive self-loathing. 

“It’s all right, sweetie.” Eliza increased the strength of her grip, the breadth of her smile. “You can just rest your hand in mine for now. And don’t worry about Alex. She dislikes everyone at the moment. You see, we humans go through a period of time while growing up when we become entirely insufferable to everyone around us.”

She winked at the young Kryptonian and patted her hand affectionately. When she released her hold, she once again gripped the box in her lap. “A few years ago, Kal-El gave us a special ornament.”

Kara’s entire countenance shifted at mention of her cousin. Even with his atrocious grasp of Kryptonese and his stilted comprehension of his history and lineage, he was still _zrhythrevium_. 

Family.

A word that had once encapsulated the entirety of one of Krypton’s noblest houses, now reduced to a man more alien to her than the family to which he had abandoned her. She and this Kryptonian in name only were the final ones, not just of a family but of a whole world. Sometimes, the truth felt like more than she wanted to bear—a sentence to which she saw no end.

Eliza tapped the side of the box lightly to draw Kara’s attention. She continued in her gentle, clear cadence, “He gave this to us to thank us for helping him understand and control his powers, the way we’re helping you do the same. He explained how special it was to him—how it wasn’t what most people thought it was.”

She slipped off the top and leaned the box forward so Kara could see the contents. The young Kryptonian gasped sharply, a painful choke of overwhelming emotion.

_“Tiv zrhythrev ehl.”_

Tears shining in eyes a blue so beautifully alien, she reached out, slipped fingertips nervously along the etched lines of the glass ornament. 

Eliza brushed away the steady stream of sorrow falling unrestrained down the young girl’s cheeks. “Kal-El explained how this is the crest of your House, your family. He explained its meaning: stronger together. _El Mayarah_. “

The sob that hiccupped from Kara caught her by surprise almost as much as hearing her native tongue spoken by the woman before her. Eliza gentled her tone even more as she tucked a lock of hair behind the young girl’s ear. “No one on Earth will ever understand the depth of your pain, Kara. You bear an unforgivable grief and an unforgiving obligation.”

She pressed her hand against one of Kara’s tear-stained cheeks. “But you will never be alone. We are here with you—even Alex,” she teased softly. “You are our family now. You will always be Kara Zor-El. We would never deny you that right. But we would be honored if you also accepted the place we offer you in our House, as Kara Danvers, and allow us to embrace your House creed as our own:  _El Mayarah_.”

She lifted the ornament from the box and held it out to the young Kryptonian. “Hang it on the tree?”

Hands trembling from the exertion of control, Kara accepted the glass crest and walked it carefully to the tree. With a quick scan, she determined the best location, hovering up slightly from the ground to reach it. When she landed once more, she felt Eliza step beside her.

“We’ll let that slide this time,” she whispered as she again took one of Kara’s hands in her own. Once more, Kara let her hand fall completely still.

**_Just squeeze my hand a little bit, Kara. Just to let me know you understand._ **

Kara frowned, the words sounding distant and heavy with worry. When she looked into Eliza’s face, however, she saw only kindness in the woman’s comforting gaze.

Fingers flexing once more, the Kryptonian focused intently and tightened her hold, long enough for it to register but not long enough to hurt if she gripped too tightly. 

The joy in Eliza’s expression was overwhelming as she drew Kara into her arms and hugged her.

**_That’s it, sweetheart. You’re doing just fine._  **

* * *

**_Come on, get up, Conejita._ **

She rolled over on the training dais, flinching at the unexpected depth of soreness through her muscles. Still, she couldn’t help the amusement filling her expression.

“Did—did you just call me Bunny Girl?”

The agent stared down at her impassively, although she could see the roguish shine that most people simply overlooked. “I can go back to calling you ma’am, if you’d prefer.” 

The hero snorted while accepting the hand extended toward her. The kryptonite emitters glowed around them, making her movements slower, less certain than she would like. She knew Alex’s insistence on training with her in this way was ultimately for her own good; she had already noticed a distinct improvement in her fighting style since they began.

Still, she hated the way her body felt while in that room: lesser in discomfiting ways. Even after only half an hour of training that day, she felt pain in parts of her body she couldn’t even remember using.

As Vasquez released her grip on the hero’s hand, she backed away and once more fell into training position. “Want to impress me with more of that fancy fighting your sister’s supposedly been teaching you?”

Kara laughed at the teasing while settling into her own training stance. “You just took me by surprise that last time.” 

Her opponent smirked as she watched the hero begin to hop subconsciously once more on the balls of her feet. In one stunningly disarming movement, the agent dropped to a crouch supported by her hands and spun in reverse on one foot, fully extending her free leg as she did. Her rear sweep made perfect contact with the hero’s boots, knocking them completely up off the mat.

Feet swept out from under her, Kara once more toppled downward. As her whole body made impact, a string of Kryptonese growled from her mouth. She clenched her eyes shut and forced down painful gulps of air. With a groan, she let herself sink into the padding.

**_No giving up allowed._ **

A shadow separated her from the bright overhead glare of light, and she knew without looking, Vasquez was standing once more over her. “I take it I’m not supposed to hop?” 

“Your sister _might_ have mentioned you had picked it up as a nasty subconscious habit. She might have also asked if I could break the habit.”

Cracking one eye open, she squinted accusingly at the agent. “Are you sure she didn’t tell you to break _me_?”

Vasquez merely shook her head while turning and jumping down from the dais. Kara rolled once more into a sitting position, frowning at the depth of her aches. A towel suddenly smacked into her face, followed by the feel of someone settling in next to her. 

As she wiped her forehead and patted the towel along her damp hairline, she took in the agent’s curious side-eye. Finally, Vasquez commented, “I didn’t realize you could sweat.”

Cape-clad shoulders hitched in resignation. “All bets are off when I’m in here under the emitters.” She honestly hated the sweating, especially since she did it in her Super suit, which wasn’t exactly “wash-n-wear.” She wished Alex would let her train in more suitable—and breathable—DEO gear. However, the brunette argued that she needed to feel comfortable executing her training while being aware of her uniform.

She had then demonstrated why by slamming Kara to the mat using her cape to the hero’s disadvantage.

“Must suck to be in this room.”

“It’s not my favorite room here, that’s for sure,” she agreed while rubbing at a soreness in her forearm.

“But you’ll be fine as soon as we shut down the emitters, right?”

Kara caught the concern in Vasquez’s question. This was the first time she had trained in this room with any agent other than Alex. It was also the first time any agent other than her sister was seeing her in this diminished capacity. 

She wasn’t the least bit surprised Alex had chosen Vasquez to take her place while she was on assignment. The tactician was quiet and fiercely loyal. She was also wickedly funny and unflinchingly observant, reminding Kara of the Earth adage about deep, still waters.  

“Absolutely,” she smiled. “And then I can go back to hopping as much as I want.” 

She loved the small dismissive sound that slipped from the agent’s lips as she rose from the dais and extended her hand once more to the hero. When she accepted Vasquez’s offered help in getting up, she paused at the unexpected way the agent held her hand so tightly.

**_If you need to rest, that’s fine. Just always be sure you get back up. Keep fighting._ **

“I’m okay, Suze,” she reassured. With a dramatic eye roll, she finished, “You’re safe from Alex. I promise you haven’t broken me.”  

“Thought never crossed my mind. Can’t break the Girl of Steel.”

Snorting at the sentiment, Kara climbed back up onto the platform. “Yeah, but you sure can beat the crap outta me.” As she once more took her stance, feet now solidly planted, she queried, “Hey, what are you doing for Christmas?” She smirked in instant admonishment. “I mean, if you celebrate Christmas—which it’s totally cool if you don’t. I mean, technically, I don’t actually _celebrate_ Christmas.”

At the sight of Vasquez’s perfectly still expression, Kara stumbled into silence. “You just celebrate the Christmas cookies, is that it?”

“I am totally equal opportunity when it comes to holiday eating. I will turn down neither reindeer nor dreidel nor solstice rune on my cookies.”

Vasquez’s expression relaxed into an easy smile. “Humans could learn something from your holiday cookie ethic.” She shrugged as she took her place opposite the hero. “I haven’t really done much for Christmas since I moved here.”

“You don’t go home for the holidays?”

The skin around the edges of the agent’s eyes tightened in a way that made Kara instantly regret her question. ”I don’t really go home at all anymore.” 

Expression crumbling with guilt, Kara instantly blurted out, “You could come with us for Christmas.” At Vasquez’s stunned smirk, she continued, “To Midvale. You’d love it! Lots of food and—”

“—and my CO and her mom wondering why I’m there?” Vasquez broke with full laughter at the flustered blush her comment earned. Shaking her head, she began to circle the hero. “I would actually take you up on your offer—if I didn’t already have plans.”

Countering her moves, Kara smiled in excitement at her response. “Plans? Like legitimate plans? Or fuzzy slippers and Thai takeout plans?”

After a quick assessment, Vasquez moved, a blur of forward motion that nearly knocked Kara on her ass. With a solid block and grab followed with a pivot of her hips, however, she caught the agent and flipped her to the mat. A broad flash of teeth greeted Vasquez when she re-opened her eyes. Hopping with delight, the hero quickly pulled Vasquez up. “Conejita, for the win.”

The agent brushed herself off while chuckling. “Point for Supergirl.” She rubbed at her neck. “And takeout and comfy clothes _are_ legitimate plans if they are shared with someone who appreciates the same.” 

Jaw gaping in excitement, Kara drew a Kryptonian-sized gasp. “Agent Vasquez, do you have a secret Santa snuggle buddy?” Before the agent could reply, she began hopping excitedly. “You do! You totally have a Christmas bae!”

Laughing in a way Kara wished she heard far more often from the usually stoic agent, Vasquez jumped down from the dais and headed for the emitter control. “Okay, that’s enough kryptonite for you today.”

Kara giggled in reply as she followed after the agent. “Come on! You can tell me.” She bumped playfully into the agent’s shoulder. “Or should I try to guess?”

With a glance that instantly set Kara off-balance, Vasquez rejoined, “No offense, but I’m pretty sure I could guess _your_ office obsession way before you could ever guess my ‘Christmas bae.’”

Helpless against the furious blush she could feel spreading through her cheeks, Kara quickly turned away with a shuddering laugh. “Wh-What? I don’t—I mean, I’m not interested in anyone at my office—not like that.”

“No?”

The hero nodded even as uncertainty fluttered in her chest. “Because workplace romance is totally inappropriate.”

“Is it now?” Vasquez pivoted to face the blushing hero. “Then I guess romantic feelings for your superior would be professional suicide, wouldn’t it?”

Kara stared in silent shock. Her mouth moved several times, clearly beginning words her voice refused to finish. 

With a wickedly amused smirk, the agent only mildly let her off the hook. “We’ll leave _your_  superior crush under wraps this time.” As she deactivated the emitters, she finished, “But I’ll be sure to let Major Lane know your thoughts on workplace romances while we’re enjoying Drunken Noodles in our fuzzy slippers and watching _Scrooged_.” 

The joy of realization to sweep across Kara’s face froze as pain ripped through her chest. Legs buckling beneath her, she hit the floor with full force and crumpled onto her side, hand fisting into the bright sigil over her chest. Her lungs refused to fill as she struggled for even one tiny breath to abate the terrifying sensation of suffocating.

And the pain, oh gods, the pain that made her heart slam as though trying to break free, break away from this torturous agony. 

_**Kara!** _

She felt Vasquez gripping her shoulders, trying to help settle her back from her body’s protective inward curl.

_**We need help!** _

The hero’s eyes slammed shut from the unbearable sensations tearing through her. She could hear a muffled dissonance moving around her, could feel her body jostled in ways that made no sense. With every moment that passed, the brutal kick drum beat of her heart worsened until she feared her body would simply split in half. 

When silence settled, lush and thick, throughout her body, she welcomed it—welcomed the fleeting breath and the arrested throb of her once seemingly unceasing heart. All she felt, all she _was_ in that moment was...

...nothing. 

**_Come on, Conejita! No giving up allowed!_**

 * * *

_**Stay with me, Kara!** _

Alex’s grip on her hand tightened to an almost painful level as she tugged her sister back down onto the couch. 

_**I can’t do this without you.**_

The hero shuddered at the sound of the words Alex had first said to her more than a year ago, uttered once more with the same fear but now heavy with heartbreak.  

“I’m not going anywhere, Alex. I promise. I just want to get you a glass of water. I need you to stay hydrated.”

Her gaze drifted toward the bottle of whiskey setting on the breakfast bar. Alex had already decimated almost half the bottle by the time Kara had arrived, and she knew the bottle would be empty by morning if she didn’t intervene. 

Sensing her sister’s thoughts, Alex shoved back and shifted away from Kara. “You just love being right, don’t you?”

“What?” Kara shook her head, confusion simmering beneath her concern. “What do you mean, Alex?”

“I mean me!” Her voice cracked into sharpness and fury. “Still broken and drunk yet again.” She staggered to her feet, destination clear. “More points for the  _brilliant_  girl from Krypton,” she mumbled.

Before she could make it to the whiskey, Kara breezed past her and snatched up the bottle. She cradled it against her chest in a grip that made the glass creak audibly. 

“Goddammit, Kara, give me the bottle.” At the sight of her sister backing away, she tumbled forward enough to grip the bar’s edge. “Give me the fucking bottle.”

“You really want the doctors at the DEO to have to pump your stomach? Because that is exactly what you’ll need if you drink any more.”

“I don’t care.”

“I _do_!” Fury lighting her gaze, Kara strode quickly to the balcony door, throwing it open with enough force, she heard the hinges bend. Pulling back her arm, she hurled the bottle straight up into the night sky.

“Are you kidding me?!”

She felt Alex’s fist connect against her shoulder, followed immediately by a growl of pain. Spinning around, she quickly scanned her sister’s hand, relieved when she saw nothing broken. “You know it’s stupid to hit me,” she scoffed while striding back to the couch.

“ _You’re_  stupid.” The brunette stumbled behind her sister, flopping down into the corner opposite where Kara sat. “Super stupid.” 

Rolling her eyes while grabbing Alex’s tumbler, she quickly tossed back the rest of the whiskey left in the glass. Unfazed by Alex’s furious stare, she shrugged, “You really shouldn’t give pep talks while drunk and wallowing.”

“And you shouldn’t sit there judging _me_ for wallowing when we’ve all put up with your pity party for more than enough time.” 

“Okay, you’re turning mean drunk really fast.”

“Stop confusing mean and honest. Your misplaced moping—”

“ _Moping_?” Every atom of her being vibrated with fury. “This isn’t some high school heartbreak!”

“No, it’s not. But it’s also not what you’re pretending it is.” Alex’s gaze grew impossibly sharp. “You feel guilty.”

“Of course I feel guilty!” The hero shoved up off the couch, the wooden frame cracking audibly beneath her strength. As she marched away to put distance between them, she yelled, “I sent him away! I stuck him in a pod and launched him into who knows what!”

“We both did that, Kara.” Alex pushed herself up enough to sit where the arm and back of the couch joined. “I’m the one who got his pod ready. I’m the one who had it placed in that field.”

“And I’m the one who hit the button that made the air poison to him!”

“Yeah, you did.” She spread her hands out in front of her in a show of acquiescence to Kara’s point. “You had to make a really shitty decision. You did. But you weren’t the one behind the choices that led to you having to make that decision.”

Alex leaned forward, hands on her knees to steady herself as she watched her sister once more sit down across from her. “You got stuck with a horrible call because no one else was strong enough to make the better decisions beforehand—and that includes him.

“These were  _his_  people—his own goddamned  _mother_! He had ample time to make different choices than what he did. Instead, he did what came naturally to him: He stepped back and let others do the dirty work.  _You_  had to be the one to fight Rhea.  _You_  had to be the one to save  _him_ —to save all of us. You had to be one to make the call on how to defeat his own people.”

She jabbed a finger in Kara’s direction. “And when he knew you might have to make that decision that would force the Daxamites either to retreat or die, where was he to take the burden of at least one decision off you? To make the choice to be the leader he was supposed to be for his people? He was the rightful heir to the throne of Daxam! He became their new king the moment his mother died, so where was he? Where was he to be the hero he claimed to be?”

Shaking her head, Kara argued, “He was dying, Alex! He was dying because of me!” 

The brunette slipped clumsily down from her perch on the couch and moved closer to her sister. “And he  _lived_  because of you. We all did. You were the only one of any of us strong enough to do what you did. You can feel guilty if you want, but you did the right thing.”

Kara sank back, her shoulders slouching. “Then when will it stop feeling so terrible?”

“When you stop lying to yourself about why you’re really so upset.” At Kara’s instant glare, Alex snorted dismissively. “Oh, what? You want to keep pretending this is all about him? Or do you want to finally admit it wasn’t  _his_  leaving that did this to you?”

Kara made to move away, but Alex instantly pressed a hand against her chest to steady her. “No. You’re not walking away from this anymore, Kara.” 

“Alex.” Her tone split between a warning and a plea, neither of which mattered to the brunette. 

“You don’t just feel guilty because he’s not here anymore. You feel so guilty now because for a brief moment, someone made you forget to feel guilty at all. You feel guilty because _she_ was who you were missing the whole time, and when she came back, everything stopped feeling wrong.” 

With great concentration, Alex scooted closer until she could wrap her arms around her sister’s shoulders. Leaning their foreheads together, she continued, “Don’t feel guilty over this, Kara. Don’t feel guilty about finally understanding who you need.”

“I told him I loved him.” She drew in a shaky breath as tears began to slip along the slope of her nose. “He was dying and I told him I loved him right before sticking him in the pod and sending him away. And now he might be out there somewhere, maybe even holding on to what I said, and I’m here—I’m here—”

“Here what?”

In a voice so small Alex barely heard all the words, Kara sniffled, “ _Not_  missing him.”

“Who are you missing, Kara?” 

“Cat.”

_**She’s here, Kara. Cat is here. All you have to do is open your eyes.** _

The hero pulled back from Alex’s hold. “What?”

_**Get Cat.** _

“No! She’s not—she’s—she doesn’t want me, Alex! Not like that.”

“I remember saying those same words.”

“And I bet you wish they had been true.”

Even through the pain so bright and present in Alex’s eyes, she could still find a smile in response to Kara’s words. “Not for a second. I wouldn’t give up one moment of my time with Maggie. She—she gave me so much. She helped me be whole and true, for the first time in my life.”

She wiped at her cheeks, her voice a sharp broken sound to Kara’s ears. “Yeah, I hurt like hell right now, and I’m probably going to fall apart a million times before the pain at least doesn’t feel like it’s going to gut me alive. But that means what she and I shared was  _real_ —not the empty relationships I’d filled my life with before her.”

Despite the tumult she felt at her own equal admission, Kara nodded in understanding. “It _hurts._  Every time she leaves, it hurts so much, Alex.”

Her throat felt raw with the emotions she had struggled far too long to suppress, her body weary in a way so foreign and unforgiving. “Why does she keep leaving me?” 

“Ask her, Kara.” She grabbed her sister’s face at the sight of Kara pulling back. “You deserve this conversation. You deserve the truth.”

_“All I am is truth.”_

Kara’s body flinched at the unexpected words to pierce with painful clarity through her thoughts. The feel of Alex’s touch against her cheeks shifted, became both more distant and more real.

**_Kara? I know you can hear me._ **

“Alex?” She blinked in confusion at her sister’s words. “Why are you—what do you mean?” 

Brightness edged her vision, confusing sounds bled through her usual filters even as her body groaned and protested against phantom pains far too significant to be ignored. Panic rising within her, she tried to focus beyond the sensory overload, focus on the features that flickered and blurred before her. “Please, Alex, tell me what’s happening?” 

**_Just keep listening to us, Kara. We’re all right here. We’re all here and waiting for you. Just..._ **

* * *

_**...Open your eyes, my darling.**  _

Alarm slipped into confusion at the sound of the voice so familiar, so  _missed_ , and now so close and so full of—worry? Fear? Compassion?

Forcing her eyelids open slightly, she immediately groaned in protest at the unforgivable brightness. “Can’t.”

“Oh? Is the Girl of Steel conceding defeat to a little morning sunshine?”

With a churlish grumble, Kara pulled the sheets up over her head to block out the intrusive light. 

“Not a chance,” came the instant response as she felt the sheets and comforter tugged back down to her chest. Eyes scrunched shut, she frowned and curled into a tight ball as the cold air registered against her skin. 

“I’m cold. Why am I cold?”

It wasn’t until she felt the press of warm, smooth skin against her own that her eyes finally opened. With a startled gasp, she shifted enough so she could meet gazes with whomever was now wrapped so comfortably and so familiarly around her. 

Golden curls framed eyes that sparked and gleamed with the most beautiful internal fire Kara had ever seen. Without thinking, she reached out and stroked a cheek, porcelain-fair and still dusted with the pink of sleep.

“Good morning, darling.” Shifting, she tugged Kara more closely into her embrace, lithe arms locked around her with surprising strength. “Let me help warm you up a little.”

The voice slipped through her with a sultry shiver. When soft lips pressed against the skin beneath her ear, a heated moan rushed from her lungs and she arched instinctively into the form fitted perfectly against her. 

With a sound suitable for sin, Cat slid a hand along the curve of Kara’s back, tightened against her ass with possessive strength. “And here I thought you might still need more time to recuperate.” She caressed Kara’s face. “Can’t stop my Girl of Steel.”

Kara couldn’t resist the need to press as closely against the small body in her arms as possible, just as she had imagined herself doing a thousand times before. When her hips began to rock in rhythm with her desire, she heard the beautiful sound of Cat’s approval, tingling through her body like a jolt from Livewire. “Show me again why I needed to recuperate,” she pleaded against the delicate line of Cat’s neck.

At the hero’s request, Cat froze. Shifting, she locked onto her with her glimmering emerald gaze. “Kara, do you remember last night?” 

Frustration settled heavily within her as she struggled with the unexpected question. Her eyes narrowed, scanning the face carefully watching her, as if seeking the answer destined to elude her. 

Cat ran her hands through the hero’s tresses, kissed her forehead softly. “Alex was worried last night’s fight took too much out of you. It’s why she insisted on driving us up instead of you flying—that and she didn’t want you flying through the storm that hit us. The rain was unrelenting. Do you remember any of it?”

Phantom flashes flickered along the periphery of her memory—something ancient and portentous, clad in darkness with strength unfathomable. 

_“Born to cleanse the scourge and deliver the awakening.”_

Refocusing the hero’s attention with a quick scratch of nails against her scalp, Cat soothed, “It’s all right, darling. Alex kept you safe and brought you home. You were so exhausted, you slept right through the worst of the rain’s damage.” She kissed Kara’s nose. “Now it’s time to get up.” 

When Cat made to roll away from the hero, she quickly snaked her arms around the smaller blonde’s waist and tugged. Cat tumbled back against the solid form with a huff of annoyance, but Kara could feel the gentle way she shook from barely contained laughter. With a playful slap to the hands holding her in place, she rolled over so they were face to face. 

_**Everyone is waiting for you to wake up, Kara. Your sister, Eliza, Carter—they’re all here.** _

Confusion rippled along the sudden furrows of Kara’s brow. “Carter is here?”

Cat’s laughter, low and musical, filled her head. “Of course he’s here. Where else would he be on Christmas morning?” The laughter slipped away at the sight of Kara staring in startled silence. ”Kara, are you all right? You’re worrying me.”

She pressed her free hand against Kara’s cheek. The hero instantly caught the scent of Cat’s hand cream, instinctively pressed more firmly into the palm now caressing her face. It felt so right, this intimacy, even though Kara knew on some level it had never, nor would ever, happen. 

Despondent from this realization, she whispered, “Just another dream.”

**_What is, darling?_ **

“This. You.” 

**_Oh, Kara. It’s not a dream. I swear it. I’m here. I’m right here with you. Please believe me._ **

Kara felt the muscles in her hand jump against the pressure of Cat’s renewed grip. Jade gaze filled instantly with concern.

_**Tell Alex something is happening.** _

“Who—who are you talking to? And why are you getting Alex?” She pushed back in the bed, muscles protesting with every move. 

**_It’s all right, Kara. Don’t fight it. Don’t be afraid._ **

The grip on her hand tightened, anchoring Kara amidst the deluge of images and sensations pouring through her, threatening to drown her in the pain and terror of remembering.

_“All I am is truth. And judgment. And death.”_

The hero yanked back her hand, scooted up and away, while glaring at the smaller blonde. Comprehension settled with a clarity Kara wanted to refuse. “I couldn’t stop her.” 

**_Not this time, my darling. But you will. We will figure out how—together. Just open your eyes, Kara._ **

* * *

Eyelids shifted, strained to lift as Kara’s forehead crinkled with the effort. Everything felt weighted, broken, terrifying, and all she wanted to do was retreat, return to anything but the uncertainty of what awaited her. 

And then fingers interlaced once more with hers in a strong, warm grip that drew her forward, drew her up from murky depths that sloughed slowly from her thoughts. 

“Come back to us, Kara. Please. Come back to  _me_.” The final word broke in two under the weight of fear and need.

With a groan that rippled through every bruised and battered cell of her body, the hero finally opened her eyes. Focus faltered under the glare of true light as she stared upward, bright halos blurring the shapes that moved within her peripheral vision. 

A hand pressed with gentle insistence against her cheek, coaxing her to turn away from the blinding shine. Starburst patterns sparkled and swam within her vision for several bleary beats, the hand on her cheek cool against her feverish skin. “There you are.” 

The voice, unusually tremulous, still tethered her, still soothed her in ways she’d fought and failed so hard to replace, to forget. Beside her, Cat sat on the edge of her bed, one hand still tangled with hers while the other stroked carefully along her cheek, through her hair.

The smaller blonde’s own hair had lost all its curl and shine, pulled back into a messy knotted ponytail. Her face, clean of makeup, showed exhaustion deeper than Kara had ever seen before. Her eyes, however, shimmered with a happiness that stunned Kara to realize was all for and because of her.

Reaching up with her free hand, her muscles fraying with strain, she rested her palm against the smaller blonde’s pallid cheek. Thumb sweeping through the steady stream of tears now falling, she sighed, “ _Nahn rrip w :zrhueiao.”_

Confusion instant in Cat’s gaze, she looked questioningly to Kara’s left. 

The hero recognized the snort of disbelief beside her, even though the voice was deep and thick with emotion. “And that would be my sister coming out of a coma to tell you she thinks you’re beautiful.”

Cat attempted to dismiss the comment with a patented roll of her eyes, but the move merely released the tears edging her eyelashes. “Clearly, we need someone to check your sister’s vision as soon as possible.”

Alex circled around the foot of the bed, coming to stand beside where Cat sat. Features unusually drawn and pale, she stared at her sister with a smile broken in ways the hero could tell would be long in healing.

Drawing a breath that hiccupped within her chest, she placed her hand on Kara’s shoulder—just needing to make contact, confirm through touch as well as sight the truth of her sister’s awakening. _“Grhehshehth w rrip eh, ie te.”_

At the feeling of Kara reaching over and gripping her hand with as much strength as she could muster, Alex surrendered to the sobs she’d so valiantly resisted, the pain of her deepest fear breaking over her, buckling her knees and leaving her breathless. Realizing the imminent collapse, Cat quickly slipped to her feet, catching Alex before the brunette’s legs could completely betray her and shifting her to rest where she’d just been sitting. 

With clumsy, desperate moves, Alex leaned forward, hands on either side of Kara’s face, and rested their foreheads together. “I knew you would come back. I knew you’d find your way home.” 

Thoughts thick with medicated haze, Kara could still discern the doubt within her sister’s words—knew without question how deeply Alex needed solid, tangible proof to crush it from her thoughts, to fill the emptiness of her dread once more with hope. Ignoring the protesting pains of every movement, she wrapped her arms around Alex as tightly as she could. She swallowed back sounds of discomfort to rise at the feel of her sister immediately crawling up beside her, tangling her hand into the front of Kara’s hospital coverall.

The brunette buried her face into the strong line of her sister’s neck, her fear flowing from her in a torrent of shattered whimpers. With great effort, the hero turned into her sister’s embrace, breathing out the oath of their bond against tear-streaked skin. “I’ve got you, Alex.”

“Always,” came the instant reply, voice hoarse but already losing its brittle edge. 

Movement drew Kara’s gaze up once more as she watched Cat shift closer, settle a hand against her sister’s shoulder and begin to rub calming patterns. Before she could force her thoughts into any kind of coherence, however, she heard the rapid beat of someone running toward them. “Mom?!” 

Rubber soles squeaked against tile as Carter skidded to a stop, bumping unceremoniously into his mother’s side. At the sight of Kara watching him from beneath heavily lidded eyes, the worry darkening his features cracked apart with an achingly wide smile and eyes bright as sapphires. “Kara!” 

Hands appeared on Carter’s shoulders, tethering him in place even as his excitement visibly vibrated through his slight frame. 

“Easy, _uk’ bal-ta’ahk_. No need to break the sound barrier.” 

The hero shifted her gaze upward with a slow blink. J’onn smiled back from his stance behind Carter, his dark gaze filled with the shine of relief. Beside him, Eliza brushed past to circle Kara’s bed, Vasquez instantly filling the now-vacant spot next to the Martian.

Words lost beneath sounds of reviving joy, Eliza moved to Kara’s other side and wrapped her arms around both her daughters. She pressed kisses along Kara’s temple while running her fingers through Alex’s locks. “My girls,” she finally sighed, her smile small and shaken. 

Kara glanced around once more at those collected around her bed—an unanticipated melding of her worlds into the beautiful pastiche surrounding her in that moment. The fear simmering within her thoughts regarding the extent of her damage or the length of her recovery faded for the moment beneath the swell of love she felt for all those before her.

Z _rhythrevium._

Family. 

“Sweetheart?” She turned with the gentle guidance of Eliza’s hand on her cheek. “How do you feel?”

Forehead crinkling in concentration, she assessed the sensations through her body. “Weak.” The word cut with jagged despair from her throat.

Nodding, Eliza glanced toward J’onn. “We need to run some tests now that you’re awake.” Seeing the fear rising within her younger daughter when she turned back, she pressed a soothing kiss against her forehead. “It’s all right, Kara. Alex and I just want to be sure you’re healing properly. We’ll be with you the whole time.”

She caught the shift of her daughter’s focus and nodded knowingly. Still studying Kara’s expression, she stated, “Anyone who wishes to stay can do so, Kara. The tests won’t be invasive, okay?” 

At the sight of Kara’s hesitant nod, Eliza gently urged Alex to release her hold. “Alex, help me take care of your sister.” 

Alex’s response to the statement her mother had deeply ingrained into her after Kara’s arrival was autonomic as she immediately pushed herself up and back to her feet. Before leaving Kara’s side, however, she turned, her gaze instantly finding its intended focus. “Cat, would you like to sit back down?”

The trade-off in positions was seamless, Cat slipping back into her previous spot even as she gave Alex’s shoulder a grateful squeeze. As Carter stepped up to stand beside his mother, Cat interlaced her fingers once more with Kara’s, softly kissing knuckles no longer torn raw from battle. The hero’s eyes, their color muted and their focus sluggish, swept a path once again along Cat’s features. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Cat’s responding smile left the hero feeling lightheaded. “I have missed you every moment I’ve been away, Kara.” She curled her free hand gently behind the hero’s neck, fingers tangling in the soft golden wisps along her nape. Her eyes conveyed so much more beyond her spoken words. Kara deciphered it all, the language of a Cat Grant look being simply another in which she was masterfully fluent. 

For the next few hours, Kara patiently endured each test, each draw of blood, each question posed to her by Eliza, Alex, and the myriad DEO doctors who all seemed to need the same reassurance that their hero had, indeed, returned to them. Throughout it all, Cat remained by her side, even as the others came and went with the encroaching evening.

The hero watched with curiosity and gratitude as J’onn carefully scooped up Carter from where he had fallen asleep on Kara’s bed, softly reassuring him in his native tongue when the young boy stirred in his arms. As he departed, Vasquez fell into step with him, after promising Cat and her Conejita that she would stay with him to make sure he didn’t wake up alone. 

When Alex returned from running the last round of tests pertaining to her sister, looking as though she were barely keeping herself upright, Cat finally interjected. With a glance of confirmation toward Eliza, she declared in a voice stern yet kind, “Agent Danvers, as President Marsdin’s official representative here at the DEO, I order you to get some rest.”

At the sight of Alex preparing to argue, Cat finished, “Sleep, Alexandra.” She quirked a brow knowingly at the way the brunette bristled at her full name. “I will keep Kara safe.”

Shoulders giving beneath her mother’s comforting one-armed hug, the brunette relented with a small nod. “I love you, Kara.” Her eyes glistened in the low light of the med bay at the sound of Kara’s instant reply before Eliza led her away.  

Finally as alone as the night shift staff could allow, Cat slipped out of her shoes and shifted so she could lie beside Kara. The hero instinctively moved closer, drawn into Cat’s orbit as easily as she always had been. The smaller blonde reveled in the way Kara’s body relaxed into hers, tension draining away with every small shudder of breath.

Turning more fully into the embrace, she caught the tightness of pain along the edges of Kara’s features. “Are you all right? Is this hurting you, Kara?”

A grip stronger than Cat expected latched onto her arm, released slightly but still clung with a clearly unbreakable hold. “Please.”

Cat placed her hand against Kara’s flushed cheek. “I’m not going anywhere, darling. I promise.” Guilt wrapped tightly around her heart at the sob of relief her words ripped from Kara’s chest. She watched for several silent beats as Kara studied her cautiously, hopefully.

Gazing into the eyes she hadn’t been able to purge from her thoughts since her move to D.C., she forced herself to find the words—the  _courage_ —Kara needed most from her in the moment. “I left so many things unspoken between us—so many things unfinished.”

She leaned forward, her kiss careful but strong, her lips warm and soft and so full of promise, Kara wept at the sensations filling her.

When their watery gazes met once more, Cat shook her head. “I swear to you, Kara, I won’t ever make that mistake again. I will never leave anything unfinished between us.” She made no attempt to hide her own tears as they coursed down her face. “I was so afraid—when I saw you fall, I was so afraid I had lost you. I’ve never been more terrified in my life.”

Shudders swept through her as she felt Kara snuggle more deeply into her embrace, felt the hero’s confession sweep across her skin like a lover’s caress. Peppering Kara’s cheek with kisses, Cat shone with delighted devotion. “I love you, too, my darling.”

She knew there was so much more still to be said, so much to be righted and repaired between them. But the feel of Kara in her arms was both homecoming and rebirth, and she couldn’t remember the universe ever before feeling more right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, happy holidays to each and every one of you. Whatever, however, whenever you celebrate, I hope it's full of magic and light. You've all brought me an incredible amount of joy this past year. In whatever way we've interacted on any of my stories, I want to thank you. I read and try to respond to every comment I receive (even if sometimes it seems like I've gone MIA and might never be heard from again!). If I could respond to every kudo, I would try that, too! I know how easy it is to read a story and then slip away without a sound (I'm so painfully guilty of that, I'm embarrassed, TBH...although I'm trying to rectify that as I slowly allow myself to return to reading rather than just writing). So thank you for taking the extra time to let me know what you think. I appreciate every click, every kudo, and every word you've left behind. 
> 
> Mea culpa for the extended silence on this chapter. Holiday season is rough on many levels for me. Plus, the more time that passed between the first chapter and this one, the more time I had to think about where I thought the next part of this story should go. It grew into something even I wasn't expecting...but damn, I really like where it went. I just really like the idea of Kara being led back from her coma by the strong women in her life--something we absolutely need to see more of on the show. You want to focus on relationships all the time? **These** are the relationships we want to see more frequently, CW. Pay attention. 
> 
> I included Vasquez rather than Lucy here, because, as much as I love and miss Lucy, I was so excited that Briana Venskus actually appeared in this episode. One of the things they continue to get right with this show is continuing to bring her back as Vasquez. And even though we don't see her in any of the end scenes, I believe Vasquez would have been there onsite with Alex and the other agents during Reign's attack on Supergirl. She would have been just as devastated by what she'd watched happen to her friend, and she would have been right by Kara's side just as often as the other women I included in this chapter. 
> 
> Oh, and I decided that, in this universe, Lucy Lane would have joined the DEO after the Red Tornado incident made her realize she didn't want to become a xenophobic jerk like her father. That would be how she and Vasquez would have already known each other...and more ;-)
> 
> I thought about fixing the injustice of Maggie's departure this season--but keeping it worked too well for the direction I wanted to go with Alex's section. I am sorry, Sanvers fans. I promise, though, Maggie and Alex are strong and well in my CADMUS Ascending series. I can't make any promises about anything else in that story (which I swear I'm going to return to soon)...but I will make this promise: Alex and Maggie will not break up.


End file.
